Silva: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for NFC teams.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
Ryan Callahan scored for the fifth time in four days and defenseman Ryan McDonagh snapped a second-period tie to lift the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
Kobe Bryant hit a baseline jump shot with 4.2 seconds left and the Los Angeles Lakers wrapped up a six-game road trip by holding on to beat the Raptors 94-92 on Sunday, their eighth victory in nine meetings with Toronto
Arc's five up, five down: After No. 11 Michigan State's 58-48 upset of No. 3 Ohio State, you'd be a fool to discount the Spartans' national title chances now.
Miami coach Al Golden says the worst is behind him, but his headaches figure to continue now that former booster Nevin Shapiro, now in jail, says his involvement with the Hurricanes program will result in stiff penalties.
Eleven shots separated Phil and Tiger Sunday at Pebble Beach as Lefty secured his 40th Tour win. Jason Sobel had hole-by-hole reports.
The United States completed a 5-0 rout of Switzerland in the Davis Cup on Sunday, with 19-year-old Ryan Harrison and John Isner winning closing singles matches.
Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
Tessa Worley of France fought off gusting winds to win a second consecutive World Cup giant slalom Sunday in the Andorran Pyrenees. Overall leader Lindsey Vonn was more than a second behind and finished eighth.
Robins: It’s the Year of the Dragon on the Lunar calendar, and this Chinese influence could extend to it also being the year of the Pekingese on the green carpet at the 136th Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday.
AP“It’s the Classic, babe. That’s where you have to go to win a championship,” advised Rick Dutrow Jr., trainer of Big Brown, this summer before the colt had to bow out. But Breeders’ Cup champion Raven’s Pass, having won just a race on these shores, doesn’t merit Horse of the Year distinction. He will be, on the other hand, a Cartier Award winner for best 3-year-old in England.
Curlin was gallant in defeat, making a move around the turn that made fans gasp with admiration. He looked massive running mid-pack past the grandstand the first time, with the fading sun casting that Kodachrome gleam on his perfectly-turned out coat.
Curlin, unfortunately, just flattened out in the stretch – the same as he did in the Woodward and Jockey Club Gold Cup. The difference for him this time around is that he had two superior European-trained horses to contend with. By the way, various European horses won five Breeders’ Cup races out of nine, and various other European horses placed in five races also.
Curlin’s Achilles heel seems to be that he doesn’t favor tracks that aren’t dirt. His only two losses came on the turf in the grade 1 Man O’ War at Belmont and here today at Santa Anita. During the rest of his time in competition, he won the $6 million Dubai World Cup and the Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs, in addition to the two aforementioned races.
“I’m disappointed he lost, but obviously he’s done enough for us and our careers. He’s the all-time American horse, so we can never knock him,” said Curlin’s rider Robby Albarado. He praised Raven’s Pass and indicated the Pro-Ride is like turf which might have given the British invader an edge.
“It absolutely was the Pro-Ride surface,” Curlin’s trainer Steve Asmussen said ungraciously. “He’s a great horse. He’s won $10 million,” Asmussen said, as if needing to remind anyone.
Curlin’s a fan favorite, no doubt. High praise goes to owner Jess Jackson for keeping the colt running. The California winemaker deserves higher praise for testing his 2007 Horse of Year in the Classic, where he had everything to lose from defeat. The crowd backed Curlin to an unrealistic 4-5. Now it’s better than even money that Zenyatta steals his crown away. There’s a Queen at the top of the game, not a King.
The first of three pools of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager begins its three-day run on Friday and the bet's opening scenario is very similar to each of its opening pools since the wager was created in 1999.
It's first time that Classic will be broadcast in primetime on Nov. 3.
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 | Derby celebs Plenty of stars from the entertainment and sports world attend the 136th Kentucky Derby. more photos |
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The Week in Sports Pictures The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more. more photos |
Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.
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